


Torchwood Season 1

by thestoriesthatiwrite



Series: Torchwood reboot [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: 56k, Episode: s01e01 Everything Changes, Episode: s01e02 Day One, Episode: s01e05 Small Worlds, Episode: s01e06 Countrycide, Episode: s01e07 Greeks Bearing Gifts, Episode: s02e12 Fragments, F/M, I plan to take this at least to Season three, Janto is endgame so it give it time, M/M, Slow Build, We all know torchwood so I guess you can expect Aliens, cursing words are present, every chapter is a new scene, please be patient, plus mentions of suicide death mental illnesses and sex, same characters but a slighly different background story for some, so when I say give it time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:25:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestoriesthatiwrite/pseuds/thestoriesthatiwrite
Summary: Season 1 of Torchwood the Reboot, currently has 9 episodes that start with the arrival of one Ianto Jones as he discovers Torchwood three's base.Canon characters, canon scenes and storylines will be a part of this series along with many new ones as the characters find themselves in a slight different position than when they started in the original.Please be aware that even if we start the series with certain pairings, the endgame here is Ianto and Jack, but that love story is one that takes time to evolve and I plan to take my time to get the characters there.





	1. 01. Discovery, Scene 1

Another day, Another no show.  
Had it died? Ianto wondered. People were walking passed him, but his gaze was fixed on the waters in front of him. Six months ago a giant fish eating metal had shown up in the bay. He had been watching the whole ordeal from the rooftop of the Hilton Hotel, which offered a great view of the Roald Dahl Plass. He wanted to take a picture of the view for his cousin in London. Show her Cardiff wasn’t all that bad.  
The appearance of the Fish or whatever it was had never appeared in the news, nor was it talked about in spite of there being a rather large crowd of people having witnessed it appear before the cops secured the area. Every once in a while he would bring it up but most claimed it was probably from a movieset and told him he was lucky to have seen such a stunt being brought to life. That was movie however you could wait forever for to hit the cinema.  
Poor naïve humans, Ianto thought. They didn’t know any better, but Ianto did.  
He was riding his bike dangerously close to the edge, maybe it would catch its attention if Torchwood hadn’t dealt with it yet. He didn’t know where they were located, but he knew they existed. He had seen them leave the bay on a boat that day following the fish further into the waters. He knew them. They had been there in the aftermath of Canary Wharf.

He was looking out over the bay, not seeing the plastic bottle on the ground. “Damn.” He cursed, as he collided with the pavement hard. A big gash showed on his right arm, through his torn shirtsleeve. That needed to be disinfected for sure, maybe even stitching, he concluded. What had even cause the gash, something sharp for sure. Glass? He reached for his phone but the massive crack on the screen told him enough. Useless. The wheel of his bike wasn’t in a much better shape.  
He looked at the tourist information office that was several feet away, he could always use their first aid kit. This wasn’t something that required a hospital. He knew how to stitch himself, so if need be he’d do it himself. Make his dead uncle proud.

He had to admit that the office didn’t look like much, and that it’s position could hardly lead to many people wondering in, it was almost invisible from anywhere higher up, plus it looked more like a storage than an actual office, but it was the nearest place. He tried the handle and to his surprise the door did actually open.  
There was a desk, some shelves and a curtain indicating this office at least had more room than it was showing. It was dank though, and the air was musty. Ianto liked things clean and his nose could always tell when he was in a room which hadn’t had a good scrub for quite a while. It was always harder to breath in these rooms. 

“Hello?” He took a few steps further, scanning the room some more. “Anyone here?” There really should be considering the door was open, but some of these pamphlets were from 2006. Maybe it was simply never used again and he would stumble upon a dead body that had been here for twelve years, weirder things had happened.

He heard the click of a door and watched a blond haired man step threw the curtain.  
He knew this man.  He had seen him before.

“What do you want?” He asked grumpily.

So much for customer friendliness, Ianto thought. “I broke my phone and as you can see I’m bleeding from my arm. Do you have a first aid kit I could borrow?” He asked the man.

Was this their base, which would make this an unofficial tourist office. Might explain why it’s seriously lacking in, well, everything. “You need a hospital.” The man commented.

“Oh no, just some sterilisation, so I can see the damage more clearly.” Ianto hated hospitals. “Then a bandage and I’ll be good to go.”

“I’ll go get the kit then.” Ianto frowned as the man disappeared. He wasn’t the leader. No. That was the man in the coat. Then what was his job? He didn’t seem very friendly so he definitely wasn’t part of the public relations branch or probably any socialising job.

The man walked back in placing the kit on the counter. Ianto coughed. “Sorry, the dust in this place is making my Asthma come out.”

“You should use your inhaler.” The man countered.

Ianto would, except he never needed it, last time he needed one was two years ago. So he didn’t have one with him. He had a very mild form of it which was only triggered in the aftermath of very stressful situation or in very dirty, dusty places like this place. “I lost it.” He simply stated.  
He opened the box and took the scissors to cut away the rest of the sleeve.

“That looks pretty deep, man.” He said, for a second the older man looked worried.

“It’s cool, I’ve had worse.” He smiled. He used some gauze and alcohol to clear away the blood and clean the wound. The alcohol stung like hell, but it was the best tool to use. He would need to get a tetanus shot for sure later. He inspected the wound, the man on the other side of the desk observing him in silence. The kit had a needle and stitches, which would have been odd for any regular kit, but this was probably a Torchwood kit. Just the very basics for in the field. He dipped the needle in the alcohol. He would stitch a bit here and then undo them at home for a better attempt, unless Lisa was home, than she could do it.

“What are you doing?” The man asked surprised.

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.”

The man eyes were wide open, “you stitch yourself up on a regular basis?”

“I wouldn’t say regular, but I’ve done it before. It would be less painful if I had a tranquilizer, but I’ll make due.” He knew how it must look to the man. What person goes around patching themselves up. Ianto didn’t know much better, he was raised by his family to one day be a part of the army, he had been trained since he was 4/5 to fight, follow orders, shoot, and do some of the medical things. Not that he had excelled in all departments. He resented his uncle for the harsh hand in his upbringing, but time spend with him was better than time spend with his alcoholic, abusive and obsessive dad.

He was about to put the needle through his skin when he felt a hand on his arm. “Stop it. I’ll do it.” The man grumbled.

“And why would I let a tourist office employee help stitch me up?”

“I used to be a doctor.”

“Used to.” He was pretty sure the man was probably still a doctor, just maybe Torchwood three’s doctor.

“I got caught with some pills, but I know how to stitch.” Ianto pretended to be reluctant for a second, “don’t bloody waste my time here, boy!” He took the needle from his hand. “Wait here!”

Ianto waited as the man disappeared again behind the curtain. So one Doctor, one leader, and at least one other person worked here. He had seen the Asian woman first on the scene at Canary Wharf. He wondered what her job was? Weapons? They couldn’t be a very large organisation given the fact that apparently nobody dusted. Miss Hartman would have had a heart attack if Torchwood one had looked like this for regular visitors.   

The man came back with a few items in his hand. “So when you got fired, you decided to rob the hospital.” Ianto mused.

“Sort of. They had it coming. Bloody NHS always thinking they know better.”

Ianto laughed, “Not a fan of theirs either.”

“Gathered that much.” The man responded. 

“I’ll anaesthetize the area and then stitch you up. You should take it easy though. No Aspirins, just Paracetamol and lots of water.”

“Got it” Ianto watched as the man placed the needle under his skin and stitched him neatly up. He was very good. His own stitch-work would have left a scar for sure, but his could actually completely disappear. He wondered if the man did this often, he reckoned that was probably the case. Hunting Aliens doesn’t sound like a risk-free job. Though Ianto was starting to doubt if this man really worked for Torchwood three. It seemed odd that he would give himself somewhat away as a doctor. Ianto definitely wouldn’t have done that, he would have called a cab. “What’s your name?” He asked.

“You can call me Dr. Harper.”

“Thank you for your help, Dr. Harper.”

The man inspected his work and nodded approvingly. “Just don’t go around spreading the word. I’m not a doctor anymore and the last thing I need is this place crawling with people that would rather not pay medical bills.”

“Got it.” Ianto got up, “Thank you again.” He walked towards the door, “Oh, and just so you know, half of your flyers are outdated.” He stated before walking out of the building.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was scene one. Some scenes will be longer than others, just like it would be in an actual episode. Though I do try to not have scenes be too short.  
> I'm currently working on Episode 3, but I will pace my updates, cause I can go from writing for a whole week to not writing for weeks. It's a come and go thing with me, given my illness. sometimes the things upstairs don't cooperate like I want them too. 
> 
> As you can see I already changed somethings regarding Ianto, but don't worry he is still the same Ianto we know and love. He's just slightly more based on Fragments Ianto than post Cyberman Ianto. I firmly believe certain aspect of a person are created through experience and other aspects are simply who you are and I hope I can make that obvious as you join me on this adventure to explore the world of Torchwood anew in a slightly different setting.


	2. 01. Discovery, Scene 2

“You are not seriously patching him up.” Jack lectured Owen as he watched the man quickly get some items from the cabinets in the medical bay.

“I’m a bloody doctor, Jack. I’m not going to watch him stitch himself up.”

“It’s rather unusual, isn’t it.” Gwen said, “I mean, how many people do you know that do this. Nobody on the police force does.” Jack sighed, this wasn’t something to admire. Not that Jack wasn’t impressed himself, but playing Doctor on yourself was rather risky.

“How did it even happen?” Jack asked. Owen had already fled back upstairs. Jack just hoped the boy wouldn’t make a habit out of showing up now. Though if he did, they could always retcon him.

“Seems he fell from his bike.” Tosh answered from her desk. “He was riding it near the edge of the bay. Seems he likes one of those street jumping kids, but on bikes. He did go down all those stair with ease.”

“I’m pretty sure there is a special name for that.” Gwen joined her.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. We have better things to do. Suzie? How is that Glove coming along?” Jack bellowed towards his second-in-command.

“I’m no closer than when you asked yesterday. I have no idea what it does and the archive is useless in the state it is in. Trying to find anything at all will take weeks.” She said displeased.

Jack sighed. The archives had been a mess ever since he had been a part of Torchwood three, he just never felt the need to clean it up himself, not that it wasn’t on his list of priorities but something else was just always more important.

He went back into his office and looked at the papers on his desk. There was a file he needed, he was sure it was there somewhere. If Owen was using stuff from the kit, the supplies had to be replaced again. He scanned the desk, but nothing. He leaned back in his chair. He would print out a new one, he decided. The other one would show up sooner or later. This was faster.  He was in no mood to look very hard for it anyway. The young man had commented about the dust in the tourist office and it had honestly pissed him off. It was their cover and to have someone walk in and point out it was in poor state, was not a good thing. They were a small team, but that was no excuse. Maybe he could hire someone to clean the place up, was there money in the budget for that? He would have to find it. This boy was nothing special, but someday someone might come in and cause a right problem.

“Jack.” He heard Gwen say.

He looked up into her bright eyes and smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“You seem tense. I was more wondering if I could do something for you.” She said simply, yet it was obvious what she wanted.

“I will send the rest home after Owen’s done.” Jack grinned. Workplace relationship were a bad idea, but a casual fooling around was harmless. Owen did it with Suzie and so far that worked out well. Though he knew it pained Tosh a little. Nothing was serious after all. They didn’t do serious, Jack didn’t do serious and he had told Gwen that from the start. Jack could leave any day now, this was not the time to embark on any kind of romance.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tags did warn you, but yeah Gwen and Jack are a 'thing' here. Bare with it though, cause there is a purpose to why they are and a point I want to make much further down the road.  
> As I said Jack and Ianto is endgame here. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone reading this so far and leaving kudos. Stay tuned for more, as I will try to update this fic twice a week. I'm currently writing episode 4, so there is a lot of material to come.


	3. 01. Discovery, Scene 3

Ianto had not slept well that night. He kept dreaming about those cybermen, torchwood one on fire, his back screaming in pain, and then Dr. Harper and the man in the coat scavenging through the remains. Talking about suicides that were bound to follow even if they would be retconned. Ianto had fled the scene as fast as he could. He wanted to keep his memories, they might not have been pleasant, the skin of his back forever marked by burn wounds but to know that Aliens were real. He wanted to keep that knowledge.

The rooftop of the Hilton hotel offered a great look over the Plass, with a hint of the tourist entrance. Ianto was not surprised nobody had come in or out in the morning. If this was a base, they most likely had multiple exits and he was only watching one of them actively. The odds of them coming in that way were rather small. Though somebody had to open and lock the place back up. He pulled his scarf closer around him. Up high it was rather cool.

The people moved around the Plass like nothing was happening, a couple on the right holding hands, three kids playing with their jump rope on the left. It was rather dead really at times. He looked down to his watch 10:30, he looked back at the Plass.

The man in the coat!

Ianto eyes fixated on him, where had he come from. He’d only looked down for a second. That was too short for him to have come from the tourist office. Yet here he was walking across the Plass. A woman in black appeared out of nowhere, and hurried behind him, arms locked into his, laughing. He followed them as much as he was able to, before they disappeared around the corner and he lost sight of them. Where had they come from? It looked like they had just teleported there. Was that real? Or was there something he was missing, an exit so hard to see, from this distance. He turned around and walked down the first stairs before taking the elevator to get down to ground level.

Several times in the following weeks did members of Torchwood appear or disappear at the exact same spot. Though inspection up close had shown nothing of interest. The tourist office had been closed due to remodelling. And he had discovered a third exit where the car came from, though that one was by accident. The last exit was impossible to keep an eye on if he wanted to observe the others as well. So he had to make do with the first two. He could also place a camera near the other exit to learn patterns there. Cause so far Ianto had difficulty finding any patterns to begin with. There appeared to be no structure at all.

He wasn’t sure what the grand plan here was, but he wanted to know more, he didn’t think he could just march in and say “I know what you are.” They would most likely still retcon him, but maybe he could work for them, like he was suppose to for Torchwood one. It beat any other job he could find and he didn’t want to be in the Military or a part of UNIT, who kept asking over and over. Those men really had a hard time with the word ‘no”.   
Ianto was skilled to do practically any job in the world, his photographic memory made him a valuable assess everywhere. But Ianto was raise in a military family with the motto ‘we serve the greater good’ and as much as he hated it, he wanted to be useful. It’s why he had said yes to Torchwood London. They were better than the Military, and he would be better than his uncle, his dad. Rise above all their expectations. Of course now both were dead, so who was he still trying to impress here. Himself?

He lucked out on Monday a meteor had crashed during a shower. It was all over the police radio. Torchwood would undoubtably be there. Which meant an empty office for Ianto to snoop through. He brought his inhaler with him just in case. He just wanted to see what was behind the curtain and where that led too, nothing more. The office was closed and locked. He blessed the late hour of the night and the cover of darkness. It made what was to follow easier if his odds of getting caught were slim. Ianto hadn’t been forced to open locks in over 3 years but he never forgot how, he never forgot anything. They had a lot of locks though for such a poor tourist office. That alone was a dead give-away for any burglars that there was a lot of cash and valuables hidden somewhere. He didn’t doubt that he would set of an alarm, but with nobody there and the team far from the bay, he had time to turn it off and possibly erase any camera footage. He had worn a hoodie though, so his face didn’t show. That way even as he entered he could look for the camera and turn it off before snooping any further. He really shouldn’t be good at this, but he watched too many thrillers and documentaries. James Bond could break in anywhere and the movies where surprisingly correct in what was realistic for him to achieve, not always though, but on enough occasions that it didn’t drive his dad mad. Ianto didn’t care. They were movies.

He broke the last lock and opened the door.


	4. 01. Discovery, Scene 4

They were slightly outside of Cardiff in the woods on the north side. A meteor crash had taken them out of their basketball game and into the night. 

The police forces were already in place when they arrived. Gwen had practically ran toward the scene, but in the end she still had to wait for the rest to join up. Apparently she didn't look like she was part of Special Ops or Torchwood. Too short. This was why he didn't deal with the police, too stupid. He had hired Gwen for that.   
  
The meteor has burned off a few tree tops and had landed hard on the ground. He jumped into the crater. "So, let's see what we came for." He mumbled. Some of the fires were still burning around him. They would have to wait until it was better approachable. Luckily that didn't take all too long. "What do we know?" Jack asked.  

"Bog standard space debris." Owen said, "That's a technical term." He directed at Gwen. 

"Yeah, thanks." She said back sarcastically. They had gotten along fine during the game just thirty minutes ago and now it was back to bickering. 

"So take all the readings and let's get out of here." Jack wanted to get back to the hub and analyse this thing further. 

He threw some tools to Suzie so she could take some samples. Tosh was taking careful scrapings from the surface of the very large object while Owen listened with a stethoscope. "I'm not sure there's anything alive in here." Owen said. "No heartbeat or breath I can hear." he turned to look at Gwen, "Make yourself useful, sweetheart. Pass us the big chisel from the toolbox. 

"Not sweetheart, Gwen. One syllable. Sure you can manage it." Gwen responded back. Jack ignored it, she would be fine. He wasn't here to play dad. 

"No, not Sweetcheeks? Freckles?" He teased further, "or is only Jack allowed to call you pet names?"

"It's a shame your tool's not big enough for the job, darlin'." Gwen had got the chisel, "Catch." She said as she threw it to Owen. Neither of them could react fast enough to catch it.  

"Shit!" Owen cursed as the chisel had pierced the meteor. 

"Mask now!" He ordered and just in time it would seem. Heavy gas flowed out of the meteor. A bright pink gaseous entity streamed away into the night. Damn it! Jack was less than pleasant now. 

"Brilliant." Owen commented. 

"I'm so sorry." Gwen apologized. 

"Leave it, there is nothing you can do now." Jack said. There was no time for guilt and sorrow. "Just hope it doesn't go far."

_Beep Beep._

Jack looked down at his wristband. Someone had broken into the tourist office. UNIT? If that was the case, Jack would have to put the base on lockdown the moment they got any further. Though it could also be a burglar. It didn’t matter. Speculation wasn’t going to change the actual break in. “Can we hurry this up?” Jack directed at his team. “We have a problem in the hub.”

“Problem?” Tosh asked.

“Someone broke into the office.” Jack explained. “I’d rather not take the risk that this is just a decoy and the real threat is in our base.” It might not have been his first guess, but with the Alien clearly no longer near its transporter, thanks to Gwen’s small mistake, Jack wouldn’t rule it out. There could be several of them even. Though why they would head for the Hub, he didn’t know.

“I can go back right now.” Gwen offered.

“Tosh and Owen can go. Take one of the police cars and be careful. If it gets into the hub I will put it on lockdown, not an obvious one, I will just make it impossible for them to leave.” Jack decided. It wouldn’t do them any good to scare the creature or person. If they felt safe and secure, the team had a higher chance of catching it.

“What do we do if it’s UNIT?” Owen wondered. Taking the last bit of the inside of the ship with some tweezers and placing it in a plastic container.

“Just wait for me to arrive. Anything Alien judge the risks. Keep your coms on at all times.” He commanded, before passing Owen and heading closer to the device. Jack sighed. Fucking Brilliant, they definitely had one Alien on the loose and something that could be far more annoying to deal with back at the hub. He should have insisted someone had stayed behind. Ever since Gwen had joined they had gone from four members to five but it still felt on the small side in moments like this when they had no one at the hub. 


	5. 01. Discovery, Scene 5

Ianto had successfully turned the camera off. With his flashlight on, he was even more horrid to see the dust just floating through the air. It was truly disgusting. He walked to the curtain and gently moved it aside. He might be wearing gloves but he wasn’t about to leave much of a presence behind. The more things kept the resemblance of having been untouched the better. Though he suspected they might already know he was here. It was the risk he had agreed too.

Dr. Harper had turned right, never even looking left, which meant the door was there. But there was only a wall and two shelves on each side. Judging by the space, it seemed highly unlikely the door was behind one of the shelves, he knocked on the wall behind the first shelve. Solid. He knocked one the beige bricks of the empty wall. Hollow.   
That was the door to the base, he concluded. Dr. Harper had gone through that and returned through it. But how had the door opened from this side. Ianto could be looking for anything; A book, a small decoration, a button. Whatever it was it wasn’t behind him. So either on the shelves or at the desk. Those were the only areas the doctor had covered. When he had gone back the last time, his hands were full, so anything big was out of the question. It had to be something small, something simple. Something hard to spot, but easy enough if you were a member. It had to be able to be seen and grabbed in a hurry, so nothing oddly shaped or that looked like it recently was moved or added. Nothing sharp, or too small.  He removed all the books on the shelves, but none of them opened the door. He picked up the most obvious items but nothing. He turned around and back to the desk. The man had stood on the inside. He kneeled, flashlight in hand and aimed it at the desk, searching the bottom for anything that could open a door, a switch, a button, definitely something with fingers prints on it though, and with the way this place was never cleaned those shouldn’t be hard to spot.   
When he moved the light to the right, he saw it. A small black button, surrounded by plenty of fingerprints.

His heart beat rose, he was nervous he realised. He could still leave now, but once the button was pushed he would have done something. There was no guarantee the button would even open the door in the back after all. It could be an emergency button to alert the leader, the police, maybe it would even release some form of gas to knock people out. God knows what protected this base from intruders.

Ianto swallowed hard and push it. He heard a click, his breath stuck in his throat, but nothing else happened. He looked up, eyes scanning the area above the desk. A door in front of him had opened. There were two doors, he realised. Why were there two doors? This one was better hidden for sure, covered with a huge poster of Cardiff’s finest sightings. People would have looked at it and never any further. He moved from behind the desk, the door lead down a few stairs. He took his inhaler to his mouth to calm his heart beat, which always worked even if he didn’t need it for the psychical benefits itself. Probably some psychological doctrine following years of use. He took a step forward, two feet over the threshold and heard the door already closing behind him.   
There was nowhere left to go but down now, he realised as the door closed behind him. He took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short scene for today, but that is why I'm uploading twice a week.   
> On the bright side I've written episode 1-8 in full and only the final episode of this multichapter is a work in process. So there is plenty to look forward too as we haven't even reached 10% of all the words I've written down so far.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you will continue to enjoy the ride.


	6. 01. Discovery, Scene 6

The Cog Wheeled Door opened and Ianto’s eyes widened. This place was huge. He could easily already see three layers. Though the floors were uneven. There were a lot of pizza boxes lying around everywhere and general trash and papers. Trust him to find the dirty even in a new place. He walked past a couple of computers, they were monitoring something, he saw the medical bay most presumably Dr. Harper’s work place. And then there was an office, Ianto figured it belonged to the man with the coat. He walked in letting his gaze fall on the desk filled with papers.

     _Artefact 35000B – Unlethal._

There was a small little box next to it. Ianto didn’t dare to touch it. Even if it wouldn’t kill him. He moved around the desk. There was a hole in the ground, the lid left open. He peaked inside but couldn’t see much more than the floor. He turned around, there was much more to see and he didn’t want to linger. Whatever was down there, was probably private. He might be snooping but he wanted to allow them some idea of privacy. This was definitely Torchwood three though. There was another area where a glove was lying on a table, a silver glove. Next to it were mechanical things, like drills, screwdrivers. Ianto shrugged when things got broken, someone had to put them back together. He walked passed the entrance, and turned left, there was long hall there that ended in a stairwell. He walked downstairs. Level one, he concluded. Though was it really? He had already seen at least three levels, the ground level, some boardroom and a room filled with plants. All on different levels. Technically this would be, to his knowledge level 4. He carefully took another few steps down and found himself facing a lot of doors. Prison cells.

He walked by them, wondering if there was something there. At the second on the left, there was.

“Hello.” He said.

The person was dressed in a simple blue prison outfit unresponsive to him. Ianto knocked on the door. “Ola?”

Nothing, he used his flashlight to shine through one of the hole and the person turned around.   
Ianto felt the flashlight drop out of his hand and it hit the hard floor with a loud bang. He’s breathing has quickened. Alien. He was looking at an Alien. The creature moved towards him, studying him as if it knew he was an intruder. New. Ianto didn’t dare to move. “I mean you no harm.” He said as calmly as possible.

It didn’t speak back or even made a sign it understood. Why was it here? Was the fish here too? Ianto took a careful step back, and slowly walked further down the cells. But there was nothing there. As he passed the Alien again, he noticed it hadn’t moved. “Can you speak?” He whispered, more to himself than to it.

The Alien made soft wailing sound, “What are you trying to say?”

Ianto moved his hand to the glass but the Alien backed away. Ianto shook his head and went back up the stairs. He went left and he ended up in a big room filled with handles. This had to the morgue. He had zero interest in being here for long. He didn’t have to guess what was buried down there. Aliens, body parts, maybe even Torchwood members. The dead were to be respected and thus best left alone and undisturbed.

Three floors down, Level 6, was more interesting. It was darker, the floor on several places wet from possible leakage. And there were doors and alleys everywhere. It was dank, it was easier to breath here than in the tourist office in spite of the bigger mess it appeared to be. He opened one of the doors and was greeted with shelve after shelve. Books stuffed away. He had to cough when he opened one. These were never used, maybe even forgotten. Some looked they were falling apart. Some looked very old, liked bonded together with straw. He would love it here. So much to read, so much knowledge to gain, worlds to explore and things to learn. However much he would love to spend hours here, he didn't have hours to spare. The leader and his team were bound to be back soon. He had no doubt of that. They mostlikely knew someone was here after all. 


	7. 01. Discovery, Scene 7

“The door is definitely broken in” Owen inspected the locks. “Though this was a professional job from the looks of it.” The inside looked untouched, unchanged, apart from the camera where the wires had been cut. “Guess we won’t get a look at our intruder’s face just yet.” He pointed up.

Tosh walked in behind him, “Guess whoever it is, they are pretty smart.”

“Too smart. And clearly they’ve been on to us for a while.” Owen added.

Tosh nodded in agreement, “I’m with Jack on this not being UNIT. They would have no problem turning this place upside down to get inside the hub.”

Owen closed the door behind them, “So we’re dealing with a ridiculously smart Alien, bloody lovely.” 

“Maybe it’s not evil and just wants to go home.”  Tosh offered.

He walked past her to check behind the curtain if anything had been altered but nothing had changed. “Oh for God sake Tosh, if they wanted to go home, they would show up to greet us.” 

“Jack, are you on your way yet?” Tosh directed into the com.

“10 more minutes.” He responded. “Situation?”

“Professional break in. Suspected Alien. No evidence of which door was used.” Tosh answered.

“Alright. Can you get into the mainframe from the computer? If you can turn of the alarm on the cog, you should be able to get in unnoticed, be very careful though, wait at the cog if you must before entering if you see anything suspicious.” 

“I should be able to. It’s an old computer, it might take some time though.”

Owen cursed on his breath, they should have updated the computer here. Surely they had the money for better locks and a computer of higher standards. “You have nine minutes to beat Jack to just bursting in anyway.” He commented.

“I’ll take the challenge” She smiled. That was Tosh, he thought. He wouldn’t vocalise it but he was actively rooting for her to succeed. He wanted a chance with this Alien first before Jack and his gun would take it away from him.  He watched as she went to work. The problem was the cog not the rest. So Owen pushed the button and the door opened. He walked down the stairs. Jack had successfully sealed whatever was inside within the hub, he concluded. He couldn’t see anything though, so whatever it was, it wasn’t on the main ground anymore. Nothing seemed altered either.

“Everything seems clear so far.” He stated.

Tosh didn’t look up, “I’m almost there. I’m in the mainframe, I just need to find the right way to turn of the sound without undoing Jack’s lockdown. I could undo it and replace Jack’s lockdown right away, but that gives it at least a few good seconds to escape."

Owen closed the door. “They would still have to get through here.”

“Or the car exit or the elevator.” Tosh add.

Owen snarled. “Damn it.” He pressed the com. “How do we surround it?”

“You and Tosh in the Office.” Jack replied.

“Yeah, but we need someone on the Plass and someone in the garage.”

“I will take the Plass.” Suzie replied. “I will get out of the car now, if I run I will be there by the time Jack and Gwen reach the garage door.”

“Go!” Jack ordered.

“Tosh is in the system though, but…”

“I want this thing caught.” Jack replied.

Owen wasn’t a patient man, and those minutes he had to wait could have easily been hours if you had asked him.

“I’m in place.” Suzie replied through the com.

“I have turned off the sound. Whatever the Alien is it won’t be warned of our arrival.” Tosh smiled. Clearly satisfied.

“If the sound is off, we can go in.” Owen stated.

“I think it’s best to wait one minute Owen. But we can go to the door.” She moved from behind the desk after pressing the button.

Owen headed down again. Nothing had changed since eight minutes ago. “We’re in place.” Jack said.

Owen pushed the button and the cog rolled away. The bars in front of it opened up as well. He had his gun in hand and motioned for Tosh to go right, he would go left.

Tosh motioned to him with a thumb’s up and pointed upwards. Suzie was using the elevator to inspect the possible change on the upper levels. “Anything?” He whispered to her.

“Nothing on first sight.” She stated. “Tosh, you stay here. Suzie and I will go explore the higher levels. Check the cameras, and the rift activity. See if something else came through.”

Tosh nodded and quickly moved herself to her station. On Suzie’s motion Owen followed her up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more scene to come for episode 1. Will they catch Ianto?..... Stay tuned and find out on Friday/Saturday.


	8. 01. Discovery, Scene 8

Ianto had seen enough. He was pretty sure his time would be about up anyway. He wished he could come back though, but he sincerly doubted that would ever happen. Leaving this place might not be as easy as entering it had been, he realised. Something he should have done a lot sooner, he might have stayed a little too long for comfort. He only knew the way he had come in, so he walked up the stairs until he reached the ground level.

Where those footsteps he heard?  
He quickly hid behind a cabinet. Yes, definitely footsteps, multiple even. They weren’t far away. The metal stairs made more noise then they probably should have if they were trying not to give themselves away. But then sound did echo a lot in here, he figured. For now however, his way out seemed blocked. The Asian girl he had seen before had stayed behind on the ground floor. They knew he was here, so why wasn’t she looking for him. Or maybe she was. He never did turn of all the cameras in here. In his excitement he had forgot and he hadn’t seen them either to remind him.

“I know you’re there.” She said. “I can see you. You don’t appear to be armed, so come out and I promise we won’t hurt you.”

Ianto didn’t believe that promise. He would be retconned for sure maybe they would even kill him.

“My name is Toshiko Sato. What is yours?” She was approaching him. He could see the gun in her hands. So much for that promise already. The door behind her was closed. In order to open it he would have to push the button on the wall, wait for the bars to open then the cog to roll open enough for him to run through, he would have to be very quick. Thank god he was on the skinny side. All he had to do was get passed the woman first, preferably without hurting her. He hadn’t come down here with the intend on hurting anyone.

“I’m not alone.” He said, lowing his voice, masking it.

“How many of you are there?” She asked.

“Does it matter?” He answered.

“For the odds definitely.” She countered back.

“The odds are not in your favour. If you harm me, they will kill you, all of you.” He bluffed.

“What species are you?”

“Cybermen.” He said, it was the only one he knew.

“Jack!” The woman voice sounded a little panicky. “Jack, I have one of them, he claims to be a Cyberman.” She was silent and then moved towards the office.

Ianto had no idea what had happened, but apparently the cybermen were as creepy to them as they had looked to him. He ran to the door, pushed the button and waited for the cog to open, he ran up the stairs, through the door and froze.

“Cyberman?” The man in the coat said. “Creative, and that is a lot more knowledge than you should have.”

He stood there, rather overwhelmingly. Ianto had no time to think about his next move, he just hoped he was blessed with good survival skills, he should have them after all with his family’s professions. He knew what this office looked like, the blue print all but cemented in his mind. On his left was a shelf, the door was in the middle, currently blocked by one tall looking guy. He had his arms crossed, and Ianto realised the mistake the man had made. He had left on very crucial part, extremely unguarded.

He lifted his feet and kicked the man in the crotch as hard as he could. He could hear the man yelp in pain, but didn’t stay long enough to see him bend over. He ran through the door onto the Plass and disappeared into the celebrating crowd. Thank God for Rugby and its dedicated fans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up on Torchwood:   
> Episode 2: 16 Hours  
> \- There's a sex Alien still on the loose, and Ianto's just escaped as well. Jack's having a bad day.
> 
> Stay tuned.


	9. 02. Sixteen hours, scene one

His team was gathered on the main floor at the stations. Owen was roaring with laughter, even Gwen and Tosh had trouble keeping theirs under control. Only Suzie showed no emotions on her face. Perhaps Jack would have laughed himself, if the boy hadn’t escape because of his underestimation. And obviously if he hadn’t been on the other end of that kick.  
He thought he was dealing with a Torchwood one agent, they would have stopped. The had heard plenty of rumours about him not to go around and attack him. Some of those rumours were ridiculous but they had helped install a healthy dose of fear within the organisation. 

“This is the best laugh I’ve had in ages,” Owen chortled with tears in his eyes.

“Enough!” He bellowed, he was angry. A kick to the balls hurt like hell, but maybe his bruised ego stood more assaulted.  

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Owen stated not meaning a single word of it. “You’re right.” He broke out in laughter again. “Sorry, man. But come on. You getting kicked in the nuts. That’s one America’s funniest home videos in the making.”

“Owen.” Jack directed at him.

“Alright. Just one thing. Tosh could you, please, send me a copy of that tape.”

“Owen.” Jack warned him, a stricter tone in his voice this time round. “We have two problems here. One Alien on the loose, one man on the loose.”

“I think the man is hardly a priority here.” Suzie stated, arms across her chest. “Based on the footage, he did nothing but look around.”

“Maybe he will be back with more people though, we can’t be too careful.” Tosh added. Jack loved Tosh, she was always saying what he hoped the rest of the team would have somewhere in the back of their brain too.

“Do we have a face at all?” Gwen asked, ‘if we do I can run it by the police. Have them look for him.”

The hoodie had covered a large part of the young man’s face, but he did have remarkable blue eyes. However that wasn’t very helpful. “Tosh see if we can find something useful on the cameras, anything will do.”

“On it.”

Jack walked towards Suzie’s corner of the hub. “Suzie, maybe it’s best to put this way for now.” He pointed at the glove. They weren’t sure yet what it did completely but all artefacts for the moment should be locked up for safety measures. Some of them in the wrong hands could have disastrous end results.

“Jack!” Gwen shouted. “We might have a hint on the Alien? Nightclub death been phoned into 999. Circumstances sound a little unusual. Might be connected.”

“Tosh stay here with Suzie. Owen and Gwen with me. Let’s go catch at least one of our problems tonight.” He closed his jacket and followed the rest to the car. He needed a win, his balls were still to presently reminding him of his earlier loss. Time to catch that Alien. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're off. Episode two deals with the canon events of Day one. Though slightly altered, so I hope you will enjoy it.


	10. 02. Sixteen hours. Scene 2

He had ran hard, never looking over his shoulder. He had jumped over cars, climbed a fence, it wasn’t till he reach the edge of the city that he took a breather. He turned around to face the street he had come from and saw nothing. He was running out of air, he was panicking. He took the inhaler from his trousers and took a few puffs. His hands shaking as the adrenaline was starting to wear him down a bit. He tried to reflect on what had happened.   
He had kicked the man in the balls. He was sure his dead relatives were having a righteous laugh about that, but that didn’t matter. He needed to get home safely, gather his things and leave. It was only a matter of time before they would find him. There was no way a top secret organisation that could hide aliens wouldn’t be able to track him down. He had covered himself well enough to give himself sometime and, luckily for him, they did have an actual alien to worry about. That bought him some time as well.

He had to walked back home, he couldn’t risk taking a cab, they had CCTV which would make it easier for them to track him. Even using his phone was out of the question. He had turned it off to prevent them for being able to located the unique numbers each phone had subscribed to them. He sighed and set a cautious pace. A couple of times he had gotten a good scare from ally cats or loud car horns, but he got home a little past midnight. He scanned the street three times to make sure he hadn’t been followed before unlocking his door, quickly locking it back up, adding the upper one for extra safety measures. And sat down on the stairwell, head in his hands, trying to calm his heartbeat.   
The light upstairs was still on, Lisa hadn’t gone to bed yet. He gathered himself up and walked towards their bedroom.

“ ‘Bout time.” He heard her say before she opened the bedroom door. She was dressed in her silk pyjama dress. “Where were you?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.” He really hadn’t thought it through at all. Torchwood could come here and hurt Lisa and that would be on him. He had endangered far more lives than just his own. How much in the end did he really know about them?

“Honey, where were you?” She placed a hand on his arm. “You’re shaking.” She told him.

He hadn’t even noticed, he was however, terribly warm. “We need to go.” He swallowed.

“Are you in trouble?” She asked him. He nodded. “Do I need to contact UNIT?”

He shook his head. He didn’t want their protection, not until he had no other option left. “They won’t be much use. They will only help me if I agree to work for them.”

“You really dislike the idea of working with me that much?” She smiled a little, when Ianto didn’t answer her, she continued, “Why do we need to leave, Yan?”

Ianto pushed his hood down and pulled the black sweater off, “I did something really stupid.”

“How stupid?” She asked slightly worried.

He sighed, “Gigantic, I-could-be-dead-tomorrow stupid.” He mumbled, he felt like his head was still over the place. Death was the worst case scenario, but one he considered very possible.

“Ianto!” Her tone snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I just wanted to see it.” Ianto explained. “But we all know curiosity doesn’t just gets cats killed.”

“See what?” Lisa asked. “Can you give me an actual story? So I can help you.”

She stared at him and he nodded, he wasn’t making much sense. He knew that. “You know about Torchwood three and that they are stationed here in Cardiff.” Ianto confirmed. She nodded. “I found their base and I broke in.”

Lisa eyes widened “What? Why?”

“It was empty,” Ianto answered, “and I just had to know, who they were, what they were, what it looked like? What they kept there?”

“Ianto, I thought we had left Torchwood behind us.” She said disappointingly.

“I know, and I had. But then the fish appeared.” Seeing the Alien fish had reawakened something in him that day. Seeing the man in the coat had brought back something inside of him he didn’t realise had even been gone. He had felt more alive than he had ever had since they had moved here.

Lisa wouldn’t ask about the fish, she most likely already knew through her work, “Do they know it was you?” She bit her lip, which was a sign that she was a bit nervous about the whole thing.

“I’m not sure.” He answered honestly. “I’m sorry Lisa. I saw the doctor. Not the Doctor, Doctor. But the one from Torchwood two months ago and I just couldn’t let it go.”

“Why?” Lisa shoulder hung and sighed, closing her eyes just a second was enough for him to know she was downhearted. “Why not? What is so special about them it’s worth risking your life for?”

Ianto shrugged, he wasn’t really sure himself. He had been impressed with Torchwood one and had been eager to work there, then the cybermen destroyed everything and he was robbed of that chance. When he had seen Torchwood three again, he was overcome with this need to know everything about them. And once he had been inside of their base everything had seem so worth it. The Alien, the books, he had even grown rather fond of watching the members disappear and appear on the Plass.   

“Look according to UNIT, Torchwood is a small group of people. They are fast and annoying, but small. They might not have the people to even come looking for you. Just come to work with me tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.” Lisa grazed his face gently. “They won’t come here. They hurt me or you, they have UNIT to answer too.” Ianto let her guide him to the bed. “Let’s sleep. They will be focus on the alien anyway. I was already texted to be on duty since it is most-likely already attacking in the city. I will know where they are. So get undress and under the covers. I will put on the alarms.”

Ianto nodded. He wasn’t sure if he would sleep since her words didn’t reassure him much yet. He would wait for her to sleep and start packing. When they would show up, he would be ready to run.


	11. 02. Sixteen hours, scene 3

They arrived in the Night Spot powder room. Jack spotted a the heap of sand on the floor, some scattered a little away from it. This was definitely Alien.

“This is all that's left?” Gwen asked as she arrived on the scene.

The owner nodded. “How's that possible?” The man asked distraught.  

“The question is, how did you know this used to be a body?” Jack asked him, at first sight no human would see this and draw that conclusion.

The man seemed uncomfortable for a second, Jack raised his eyebrow. “I saw it happen, through the camera over there.” He pointed up at the camera above them.  “Bit of a shock, I tell you.”

“We need to see that CCTV.” Jack told the man. Whatever it would capture, hopefully it would give them a good idea as to what they are dealing with and the face is had decided to wear.

They followed Bansky to his office on the first floor. He watched as the man opened the footage and pressed play.

A young woman and a man were getting it on. Jack was waiting for the moment the man would turn to dust. “Wow.” Jack commented when the tape had finished.  

“My God.” A speechless Owen mumbled.

“He just…” He looked at Gwen, her mind trying to puzzle the next words together.

“Came and went.” Jack added.  

“Now that's the way I'd like to go.” And the speechless part was over, Jack concluded after Owen’s remark. Typical remark as well.  

“I'm sure we could arrange it.” Jack winked at him. Owen flipped him off.  

“How can that be? It doesn't make any sense. It's not possible.” The owner said. Jack was glad he had a dose of retcon on him. He saw a glass with some beer in it and dropped a pill in it. Then quickly handed it to the man, nodding encouraging. “Nothing a drink can’t make more sense of.” He said.

The man took a big gulp. “Do you know the girl's name?” Gwen asked him, “Did the two of them arrive together or did they meet in the club? Is she a regular? Would any of the other staff know her?” When she fired questions like that, he wondered if she really was the cop he had hoped for. But she was new and clearly under pressure as well. She felt responsible for allowing the alien to escape and now this man’s death was on her conscious. This was Torchwood, this man would be her first, but definitely not the last. Everyone had made mistakes that led to casualties.  

The man had no answers for them. “Thanks for your help. We've got all we need.” Jack stated as he watch Banksy leaves.

“What are you talking about? We haven't got a clue. We don't even know her name.” Gwen lectured.

“He told us everything he knows. We have to get the rest of the information through other means.” Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Hoping it would help.  “Owen, We'll need a body from the cryo-chamber, close match for the dead guy's appearance. Disfigure the face, dump it someplace remote, make it look like a suicide attempt.” He spoke into the com. He knew Owen was already searching for finger prints and taking the rest of the man with them in one of the kits.

“You have a stash of bodies?” Gwen asked shocked.

Jack grinned, “Are you really surprised about that?”

“No, I guess not.” She shrugged. “There is just so much I don’t know yet.”

“Give it time. You’ve been here for two months. If it makes you feel any better. Suzie screwed up after six weeks, Owen after three and Tosh after nine.”

“That doesn’t help.” She said softly, following Jack back towards the powder room. Jack was following his scanner. “What about his family? You can't just fake his death.” She stated.

Jack sighed, apparently there was more conversation to be had. “You want to tell his family he died screwing an alien?” He reasoned with her.

“We don't know that for sure.” She said.

Jack took a step forward, looking her in the eyes. They would definitely be having more conversation to come about Gwen’s guilt but right now was not the time. “Same elements we recorded at the crash site. Traces all over the club, but strongest in this area. Something happened here.” He showed her. “Facts don’t lie, Gwen.”


	12. 02. Sixteen hours, scene 4

They arrived in the hub with a face of a girl that matched about 9% of their database, that was still too much. The boy had led to nothing, his hoodie protecting too much to even trigger anything in the database. The camera on the inside of the door had shown the man used an inhaler. So Tosh was now compiling a list of all asthmatic people in the area. For now they would focus on the sex-killing Alien, though. Jack wanted to capture it. Maybe even study it. Why sex? How did these men turn to dust? He had never seen anything like it in all his long years and that made him excited.

“Got it.” Gwen stated after half an hour. “Carys Fletcher.”

Jack ran towards her computer. Seemed like their match. “Suzie stay here, make sure everything is ready for this Alien. Find me the best cell to hold it. And keep the cryo-chamber ready.”

“You know we are running dangerously low on bodies, right?” She pointed out.

He gritted his teeth, “I know. Find me a quick solution and I will happily give you a week of vacation.”

Suzie would never go, she loved working too much. “Once we have the Alien, I’ll have a look.”

The team got in the SUV and arrived at the address of Carys parental home. “Put on your masks,” He ordered the team before bursting in, wearing white protective overalls and gasmasks. Jack kicked up the door and saw two people half naked in the hallway. He immediately aimed his guns at Carys.

“What's going on?” The postman asked confused.

“Put your trousers on and get out. Now!” Jack ordered. He watched as the man fumbled and ran past him through the door. “It always breaks my heart to say those words.”

He watched as Tosh took the reading “Air quality's okay. It’s safe.” She concluded.

He took of his mask. In the few seconds that it took to undo the mask, Carys dodged past Gwen. “Gwen, look out!” He shouted, but before Gwen had the chance to respond Owen tossed a device in front of Carys and trapped her inside an energy cylinder.

“What's that?” Gwen asked.

“It's a sort of inflatable cell. Power runs down after an hour, though. The battery life's bollocks.” Owen explained.

“Who said you could use that?” Jack scolded Owen.

“Er, I just stopped a prisoner escaping.”

“You know the rules. None of that stuff leaves the building without my express permission.” He continued. He didn’t like the idea of the team taking things without his knowledge. He would have to keep a closer eye on things.  

“Fine. Don't thank me.” Owen threw his hands in the air and left the house. Tosh looked as if she was ready to follow him, but stayed behind in the end. Jack used his bracer controls to deactivate the cell. It was high time to take this thing back to the hub and figure out how to remove it from the girl safely.   



	13. 02. Sixteen hours, scene 5

Jack wanted to test Gwen some more, she had been here two months but apart from two hectic first weeks, things had been on the quite front. This was when he could see if she was really was as good as he had hoped. He had send her in to question Carys. It would also allow Jack to go over some files.

“UNIT called while you were away.” Suzie walked into the office, “wanted to know if it was Alien.”

“What did you say?”

“That we were on it, so stop bugging us.” She smiled. “Mind if I do?” She pointed at the bottle of scotch.

“Only if you don’t pour me one.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m not liking this day, Suzie.”

“Alien and a little spy.” Suzie nodded, bringing him a glass. “We have the Alien now. The man will be more difficult, but we will find him too.”

“Our security was massively breached when none of us where here. We means we have been watched for quite some time. They would have had to know nobody was here after all.” Jack took a sip. Pity, these things didn’t make him drunk anymore.

“I’ve been thinking about that as well. We have a voice. Tosh is running it through the database, see if we can find a match. He sounded Welsh though, so whoever it was they were local or born here. Welsh person with Asthma narrows it down a bit. There can't be many of those.”

Jack sighed, “For now the entrance into the hub is only the lift. That won’t open unless it’s done by one of us.” It was drastic but the only safety measure that he could take right now. “Tell Tosh to start looking into better cameras, and a better computer for in the office. If you could have a look at better locks, we can prevent this from happening again.”

“I have some ideas already.” She smiled. “And Tosh has been searching as well. I am second-in-command after all.”

Jack nodded, “And what a good choice I made there. Already thinking of things before I do.”

“You focus on the Aliens, I will focus on the artefacts and the mechanicals parts. That spy had a good look at the Glove, and I don’t like that one bit. We finally know a bit of what the Glove does and suddenly there’s a spy.”

“You think it’s connected.” Jack hadn’t considered that option yet.

Suzie finished her drink, “I think we used it in public and we might not have been as alone as we thought we were.” She left with those words, leaving Jack behind in his office.

They had used the Glove on Andre Mikels two weeks ago, and it had brought in him back for a second. It wasn’t enough nor did it really tell them what the Glove was truly capable of. But if someone had seen that, anyone from an organisation or a torchwood one agent, they would be coming for it. All the more reasons to be a little stricter at the moment. God knows what that thing might be able to do in the wrong hands.

He wrote an email to the team to remind them to never ever take thing without his permission or there would be consequences, if they had any items with them or elsewhere they had till tomorrow to turn them in and all would be forgiven. Jack really hoped there wouldn’t be any. Yet he couldn’t help but feel, all of them would have something to give back. He just hoped he was able to keep his trust in them afterwards. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update, I had a lot of appointments for my health. But most are behind me now. Thanks for reading as always. Promise not all scenes are this short coming up. Length varies a lot.


	14. 02. Sixteen hours, scene 6

Lisa had fallen asleep rather quickly. Ianto knew how to be quiet so he had no problem packing his bag without waking her. It helped that she was a deep sleeper unlike Ianto who slept rather on the light side. He wasn’t sure if he should pack a bag for her too, but he placed a few of her items in his, enough for a first escape.   
He went downstairs. The blinds in front of the small windows were closed. It meant there was no way to look inside the house, but it also didn’t offer Ianto a view of anyone coming for him. He really should have taken the apartment two up, instead of this small terrace house. Apartments offered a better view after all.   
Ianto knew he would be safe if he called UNIT. Accept the job they had offered him multiple times, each time raising his salary. Even if he ran he would have no problems finding a good job somewhere safe. Even the military still wanted him and he did have those contacts ready as well. Yet to him those were last options only. Those you only consider when everything else fails.

Why had Torchwood interested him more than the rest of them, he wondered. ‘Cause they mattered more, he concluded. That was for sure. Ianto associated the military with his uncle and his dad and those were not pleasant memories for him to revisit. UNIT was ranked above them, he knew that from the many angry phone calls he had overheard during his youth. They were powerful, had more knowledge and had approached Ianto when he was ten years old and about to enter high school. His Dad had been so proud, but he had also been jealous. Jealous, that his ten year old son had surpassed him. Had caught the attention, he had craved for.   
He remembered when two business men had come round for an interview. “If you were asked to die, could you do it.” They had asked countless of questions, but it was that question that still made him turn them down to this very day. Ianto’s life was not theirs to command. He didn’t mind dying to safe the world, but it would be his choice, not because of an order from a guy who considered him nothing more than number.   
Torchwood had seemed different to him, they had at least not asked him that question. Though he hadn’t been screened by them to work in the field. They wanted him on resources, administration and possibly the archives at some point. They had wanted him for his mind and Ianto was more than happy to give it to them. If only after his final intake, the ceiling hadn’t collapsed and burned half the skin of his back off. He had never even signed his name on a dotted line. Torchwood one was gone now. There was nothing left of it. It had been a massacre, and those that survived, were there even any other than him? He had gone back the next day after getting treated in the hospital. It was then he saw Torchwood three for the first time, heard them talk of retcon and suicide. He wanted neither. So, he took Lisa and fled back home. Cardiff, where it would be safe.   
He laughed, he had run straight to them and for a year and half he hadn’t had a clue.

He had walked into their base by accident, or was it? Maybe it was faith. Did he even believe in faith?   
Seeing dr. Harper, having the office look like the worst cover in the world, it was like it had begged him to discover its secrets and with Ianto’s mind, once seen was never forgotten.   
God, that base had been a mess. It still made his fingers ache, just thinking about it. It had been so beautiful inside, but even now he could still see the empty boxes lying around, the papers everywhere. Items just left out in the open.   
Oh, but the lower he went the better it got. That creature in the cell wailing. What had it been saying? Did they know? Where had it come from?   
All those books, God, those books. So unorganised, yet he marvelled at the hidden knowledge they had to offer him. He wanted to absorb it all.     
It was a small team, he knew that. The base didn’t offer much space for a large team either. Five members he had counted. The Leader in the coat, who he guessed would be Jack. Toshiko Sato, the Asian woman he had seen two years ago, Dr. Harper and two other female agents. The hub had three stations and one office. Clearly one of the agents had no station and Jack obviously had his office. Maybe if things were cleaner and better organised there was room for more agents, though ten might definitely be the max, unless there were more rooms on the upper levels. He had never got round to them.

Ianto took a peaked outside through the blinds. The road dark, lit by only the street lanterns. Could he work for them? Clearly they needed someone that could organise and clean. Which thanks to his OCD tendencies was something he was very good at. It brought him peace of mind to know things were ordered. So many things in life where not for him to control but the layout of a kitchen you could control. A dirty sink was something you could control. Could he work for them?   
Kicking the boss in the balls might not have been a good first impression though. But then he had three choice the way he looked at it now that his head was a lot clearer.

Option 1. Run and hide

Option 2. Ask for a job and if they say no, then run and hide

Option 3. Ask for a job and if they say no, accept the position at UNIT.

UNIT would offer him even more now with his knowledge of their base, Ianto thought.   
God, he must be crazy, which frankly was a possible diagnosis given family history but it also meant he knew things could go wrong real quick without much warning.   
He was still young, 19. If he was going to live, be of some worth in this world. If he was going to matter, be more than a disappointing wiseass, maybe this was the right kind of crazy to be.

“So much for sleeping.” He heard Lisa’s voice come from the hallway.

He kissed her cheek when she sat beside him. “I’m going back tomorrow.” He informed her.

She nodded, ‘pleading for your life?” she joked.

“Make them understand they need me.” Ianto answered back, calming down a bit when he felt his girlfriend lean against him.

“I need you too.” She whispered.

He smiled. “I know. I’m not going anywhere. If they won’t take me. I will work for UNIT” he sighed, he wasn’t going to leave Lisa behind and wouldn’t rob Lisa of her hard work either. That wasn’t fair of him. This was his mess to clean up and he would do so.

“Now I’m conflicted,” She giggled lightly.

He kissed her forehead. “As long as we are together, nothing else matter right. Work and private life are two completely different things.” He reassured her. He never understood people that couldn’t separate them. Which is why he hated office romances, couples fighting at work over problems at home. So unprofessional. “You and I, we can face everything.”

She hummed in agreement. He smiled and closed his eyes wondering what Torchwood was doing right now and if maybe tomorrow he would be one of them or if he would become a number working at UNIT.


	15. 02. Sixteen hours, scene 7

Jack really wished Owen would use his brain more often, he was a fucking doctor after all. The sun had only barely risen and Carys had escaped and was causing havoc in the Conway Clinic. He mentally already prepared himself for the inevitable piles of dust they would find. Driving as fast as he could, Suzie was already dealing with the body count. They had settle on fifteen, a number he didn’t think they had to spare. He would settle for whatever match they could find and then swallow his pride and ask UNIT for the missing ones.

“What do we do if we find her? How are we going to get that thing out of her?” Gwen wondered.

“Judging by the test results, the gas needed a host because prolonged exposure to our atmosphere is poisonous to it, but our bodies are the perfect environment.” Tosh explained.  

“So if we isolate it from Carys' body” Jack reasoned

“It won't survive for long.” Owen finished the sentence for him. He knew the man felt bad about it, he would, however, not spend long dwelling in guilt. Probably a drunk night out for him and maybe a shag with Suzie and tomorrow he’d be as good as Owen got. Gwen was a different story still. He didn’t know what she would do next. He was still figuring her out.   

“Sounds like we have ourselves a plan.” Tosh's face showed a tiny smile in the rear-view mirror.

“Force it to die.” Gwen mumbled softly, clearly disagreeing.

“Just like it did those poor blokes.” Owen pointed out tactlessly.  

“What about Carys?” Jack looked at Gwen. She wanted to safe the girl, he knew that. As if that could redeem some of what had happened in the last 15 hours.

“Better start praying we get to her in time.” Owen said as they arrived at the clinic.

“Come on. Let’s safe a girl’s life and hopefully more.” He said before getting out of the car.

As Jack had predicted there were four bodies, this would require a far more in-depth cover story, but he would worry about that later.

They managed to trap Carys in the waiting room, the rest of the people successfully evacuated.  

“Nowhere to run.” He addressed the Alien who was currently still in control, but for how much longer.  

“All this sex. All we see, all we think. So much beauty and so much fear. We want it but we're so afraid of it.” It spoke back, before the girl cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor. Gwen catching her, holding her steady.  

“The strain on her body's too much. Any second now, she's rat jam.” Owen reminded them.  

“One more and I'll be strong. Each time, it works less. Each time, the feeling's weaker. One more. Make me feel alive. Make me feel human.” The Alien spoke looking at Gwen.  

“I can't.” Gwen said earnestly, it would kill her.

“I can.” Jack decided, it wouldn’t kill him, not permanently anyway.  

“Jack.” Gwen looked at him worried. She knew he couldn’t die. Why was she worried for him?  

“I've got a surplus of alive. I'm giving it away. You really want to feel something?” He addressed the Alien, approaching it carefully. He placed his hand on her face and pulled her in for a kiss. He felt the energy being sucked out of him.  

“What's he doing?” Owen shouted.  

“That was just the kiss. Imagine the buzz you get from the rest.” He winked before Carys passed out completely. “That wasn't exactly the reaction I anticipated.”

“Her body won't last much longer.” Owen pointed out again.  

“Use me. Leave Carys. Take my body as host. Just let her live.” Gwen begged the Alien. It was the guilt talking. She would have to learn to deal with it. Exchanging your life for another wasn’t the way to go about it. Though this wouldn’t kill her, he thought.  

“Gwen?” He looked at her, trying to see the confident look in her eyes, he had grown so fond of.  

“I'm stronger than she is. I'll last longer. You might be able to save me, I don't know.” Gwen had made up her mind, and Jack knew he could safe her, Carys might really be too far gone now.

“Okay.” He nodded.

“Jack. You can't let her.” Tosh argued.

“Like she said, she's responsible for this.” Tosh looked at him for a second horrified that he would approve of this.

“Come on, then. Do it. Leave her.” Gwen commanded it. Carys' eyes opened and the pink gas came out of her mouth. It headed for Gwen, but Jack casually tossed the portable cell device onto the floor, and trapped it inside. He check Gwen over and looked back at the gas.  

“How long can it survive in there?” Owen questioned.  

“It was pretty weak.” Tosh answered, reading the signal from her device. “Why?”

“Bit worried how long that battery'll last for.” Owen reminded them. Jack made a mental note to charge it back up when he got back to the hub, though a better battery all together would be more perfect. Another item on the list of things he needed to get.  

“Look.” Tosh pointed, “It's dying.”  

The gas turned into a pile of pink dust just before the cell switched off. They had got lucky there.  Jack picked up a handful of alien ash. “You travel halfway across the universe for the greatest sex. You still end up dying alone.” He might have sounded more saddened than he had meant to sound.

He got up and was met with two lips on his. “Thank you.” Gwen smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded. She was safe. The threat had been eliminated. It was time to go home. He looked at Tosh and Owen who were pretending very hard not to be in the room and laughed.

“Let’s wait for her to wake up and then we can take her home.” He decided. They had saved the girl at the cost of nine lives, but no more lives would be taken today because of it.  

“Ehum... Jack” He heard Suzie through the com. “We have a visitor at the tourist office.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of Episode 2. Thank you for everyone reading this. I'm not uploading it as often as I would like and I wish I could say it was finished completely, but I'm 95% done. Life gets in the way sometimes, especially when you're not 100% healthy. 
> 
> So what's next: Well Ianto has returned and meets the team. What will Jack make of all this?   
> Uploaded soon S01E03: First days, scene 1.


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